Going back to Bikram Yoga

Tonight, I picked up my yoga mat again and sweated it out at the Bikram Yoga Manila studio in Makati. It's been exactly a year today when I found out that I was six weeks pregnant. And it's been exactly one year ago that I did my last practice in my beginner's form in the hot room. 

Yoga essentials: yoga mat, yoga towel, water bottle

Months before I found out the biggest surprise of our lives -- tadah! we're pregnant, I was actively doing yoga: once a day, seven days a week. In early 2014, I came back to the studio to improve my posture, sweat out the toxins and hoping against hope, to lose some unwanted inches. Perhaps, it too prepared my body for pregnancy. I was practicing the whole six weeks of my pregnancy because I didn't find out until the sixth week.

Night after night, I'd go home with aching muscles. There's nothing else much that I was capable of doing except to prepare my yoga clothes for the next day. The one benefit that I swore to be the best is being able to sleep soundly at night and wake up the next day renewed and refreshed. 

In the weeks of my practice I've also noticed that my eating habits have been adjusted. I ate a controlled portion at lunch. No more snacking in between lunch and yoga practice or else, I'd pay for it inside the heated room. Dinner after yoga has been reduced to small portions of light meals because I feel like am still very full -- well, considering that I chug a liter of water before practice and another liter during the one hour and thirty minute practice...

After a year of no practice and practically leading a sedentary life, I decided to go back again. It has always been in my horizon that I'd go back after I gave birth... that I'd find a way to fit it in my schedule. 

But the reality is -- the first time, the first instance of commitment is always the hardest to start. So what tipped the scale? 

My 15 pounds (7 kilos) bundle of joy loves to be carried. She bounces her feet when we're heading out to the lobby, the pool area or even just at the hallway of our building. And boy, she loves it when we do bursts of sprints along the short length of our hallway. Her squeals of delight send me to mommy heaven. But I always end up breathless and panting after such a seemingly simple activity. 

And so it dawned on me that I should do something. I may not be able to outsmart time but at least I can ease myself into delaying the setbacks of ageing. 

Commiting to practice yoga and living an active (read: it's definition is relative ha ha) lifestyle will help prepare me for the days when my baby's idea of play time is running, climbing trees, scaling uphill grounds, and rolling in the hills. 

It would be a bonus if along the way, I'd lose my pregnancy weight. So, here's to my 30-day challenge. 

Namaste. 

Xx

Sheng

Bikram Yoga: A novice's tale

A few years back, I enrolled myself in Bikram Yoga. Primarily to lose weight. Secondarily, to stretch my sleeping muscles trapped in mounds of fat. 

Back story: I didn't just wake up one day and saw that I have gained almost twice my original weight. I saw myself progressing, pound per pound. Blame it on the job and the place where I got assigned to for work. Being in field sales didn't do any good to my already wobbly will to engage in active lifestyle. 

From that day on, I spiraled and bloated. I had my failed attempts at losing the extra pounds -- gym, diet pills, running/jogging, die-eating, and then, yoga. And not just any yoga, I chose Bikram Yoga. 

Bikram yoga is practiced in a hot room. The heated room is set at 38 degrees Celsius. Hot, hot, hot! It's meant to allow the muscles to stretch by warming them and the sweat generated by the heat detoxifies the body, thereby, flushing out toxins. 

It is composed of 26 poses, repeated twice. One session is a good 90 minute practice. 

The first time I practiced, everyone around me was sweating buckets but me. Not a drop. The succeeding days saw me experiencing dampness on my face and my limbs. Then, over a month of regular sessions, I started to experience what sweating really meant. 

And that's when I started feeling the looseness of my tighter clothes. And I felt more limber. So, I should have continued, right?

Wrong. I got sidelined. I started taking the easy route. Going to the mall, hanging out, dining out. Then, I kept gaining and retaining all the fats I've ingested. But I was unfazed. 

What was I thinking? Nothing. I wasn't thinking. For a long time. Brisk walking for two hours helped but the rain gets in the way. Hihihi. 

So, last night I went back to the studio. Enrolled myself. And practiced my first session together with good friend, Cathy. Ah, the first few minutes spending in the dark heated room meant for practitioners to relax already made us sweat!

I was nervous. The heat can induce nausea and vomiting. Mid-way to the session, I felt dizzy. So, I had to sit down. Otherwise, I feel that I'll throw up. 

And then, the poses were just so hard to follow? From the outset, it looks easy enough. Bending here, stretching there. But doing it right is a different story. And holding it in for a few more seconds and defying your limits (gravity) is another twist to the story. 

This morning, I woke up with aching limbs. It feels like I've been in a fight the night before. I was tempted not to go to work. Ha! Sleeping in would have made me feel better. 

But no, I moved along at a snail's pace. The first thing I did? Fix my yoga mat, yoga towel, my clothes for the hot room, my small travel essentials (for shower afterwards) and change of clothes. 

Am I going back tonight? Yes, definitely. I want to make my muscles remember the poses and learn to enjoy the heat and the practice. Hopefully, in the process I would lose a few inches. And my money gains mileage. Bikram Yoga is expensive. Sigh.

Why do I keep on trying? One person inspires me the most. She used to be my yoga teacher. She's become a good friend. And whichever part of the world she goes, she teaches and practices bikram yoga. 

Joyce, send me some good vibes from miles away.

Someday, I'd like to practice with you again. Hopefully, I'd be able to be at least half-decently able to do the poses, right. 

Namaste. 

Should you want to check out Bikram Yoga Manila's studio, click this link. 

XX